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Airbus' Corporate Jetliner (ACJ) Family has just grown bigger, with the introduction of a new member, the A318 Elite, based on the company's smallest airliner.

With the same wide cabin as the rest of the Airbus A320 Family the Airbus A318 Elite will serve as an entry-level airliner to the Airbus ACJ Family.

Airbus still expects most demand for business jets of Airbus ACJ-size, but can now offer an even more affordable alternative for customers that are happy with a shorter cabin and less range - for flights of up to 4,000 nm range.

Airbus will offer the A318 Elite in partnership with Lufthansa Technik with a choice of two cabin layouts seating up to 14 and 18 passengers, respectively, with seats and settees clustered in several lounge areas throughout the cabin. Both will be able to fly non-stop from London to New York, offering intercontinental capability.

As the youngest, as well as the smallest, member of the Airbus A320 Family, the A318 features several innovations which are being progressively introduced in the rest of the range. These include advanced manufacturing techniques such as laser-beam welding, liquid-crystal displays in the cockpit and an improved cabin-management system for lighting, in-flight entertainment and other services.

Like the rest of the Airbus ACJ Family, the A318 features public-transport certification, centralised maintenance, sidestick controllers, fly-by-wire controls, carbon brakes, category 3B autoland and a choice of engines and auxiliary power units.

With a shorter fuselage but the same wing as the rest of the Airbus A320 Family, the A318 Elite's short-field take-off and landing performance is being further enhanced by the certification of a steep approa

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Comlux AG, an exclusive VIP charter operator based in Switzerland, has become the first customer for the A3I8 Elite - a new member of the Airbus ACJ Family - with an order for three aircraft - the first of which will be delivered in early 2007. It has also become a new customer for the Airbus Corporate Jetliner (ACJ), with an order for an aircraft that will be delivered in May 2006.

Zurich-based Comlux currently operates two business jets, and will grow its fleet to six aircraft, including the Airbus ACJ, by end-June 2006.

"The comfort and satisfaction of our customers, both in the air and on the ground, drives our day-to-day business, and the Airbus ACJ Family's more spacious cabin, with its wider seats and aisles, plus its more modern technology, strongly influenced our choice," says Comlux President and CEO Ettore Rodaro. "The growth of our fleet is a strategic business move forward, and will help us to respond to customer demand for unscheduled flights of the highest standard, going anywhere at anytime."

Comlux's Airbus ACJ will have its cabin outfitted by Associated Air Center in Dallas, Texas, while its A318 Elites will be completed by Lufthansa Technik in Hamburg, Germany, under the management of Airbus.

Banned

Noel Forgeard, co-chief executive of the European Aeronautic Defense and Space Company (EADS), parent company of Airbus, announced Monday here that European aircraft maker Airbus plans to launch a new generation of planes.

The new planes will be built with light, composite materials to help increase fuel efficiency and to replace the small, medium-range and single-aisle A320 family, he said at a news conference.

"If kerosene is very expensive, what is important is to have an ultra-light plane, even if the cost of production is higher," he said.

"Today we are actively preparing the launch -- at a date I'm not going to reveal -- of new generations of medium-range aircraft with fuselages that are mostly made out of composite materials with very low-cost production," he said.

The main challenge for 2008-09 would be to produce these low-cost composite materials, he said.

The European company received 579 orders for the A320 for the 11 months to end-November 2005, while Boeing recorded 569 orders for its rival model, the Boeing 737, over the whole of last year.

Forgeard said that Airbus' budget for research on new technologies has been doubled to 450 million euros per year from 2006 and in 2007-08.

Airbus is 80-percent owned by EADS and 20-percent by British BAE-system.

Banned

China is launching a challenge to Boeing and Airbus for dominance of the global aircraft industry and plans to build its first mid-size passenger jet within a decade.

Beijing wants to build a 175-seat mid-range jet to meet demand for air travel in the region. The Chinese-designed plane would rival the Boeing 737 workhorse and the Airbus A319, A320 and A321 models.

Beijing's defence and technology commission, COSTIND, plans to spend £3 billion ($A7 billion) on a five-year development project starting in 2010. China is the third-biggest air travel market in the world after the US and Europe. In 2004 it had 120 million passengers.

A senior Chinese aviation official said the country was in a "rush" to build its own aircraft before demand peaked during the next 20 years. The jet is being designed to fly 1000-kilometre hops linking the country's three biggest growth and industry hot spots: the Hong Kong-Guangzhou region, the Yangtse Delta around Shanghai, and the north-east region of Bohai.

China is already buying a sixth of all new aircraft production, but there is a three-year backlog of orders. While the aircraft project makes commercial sense, it is hard to separate from global power politics and may cause nervousness in the US, Europe and Japan.

COSTIND's main job is to manage technology for the Chinese armed forces, which have become increasingly assertive in the region.

China is moving into aircraft production on several fronts. The state-owned China Aviation Industry Corporation is building a turbofan ERJ145 in a joint venture with Brazil's Embraer.

But it is also drawing up detailed blueprints for a Chinese-designed ARJ21 short-haul commuter aircraft, scheduled for as early as 2008.

At the same time, Airbus is committed to plans for a Chinese assembly plant that could entail a major transfer of sensitive technology. The agreement was extracted by Beijing last month as quid pro quo for a £9 billion purchase of 150 mid-range A320 jets by five Chinese companies, the biggest ever bloc sale of Airbus jets.

Shaanxi province is emerging as the hub of a flourishing 130,000-strong aerospace sector, the latest evidence of the country's rapid move beyond the low-tech industries in textile and simple electronics.

Banned

- It's great to hear that Airbus will be replacing the A320 family with a new composite aircraft. For most of us, these are the aircraft we fly on most often, and more composites mean higher cabin humidity, which makes for a much more comfortable ride, [I always thought the best selling point of the 787 was its 60% cabin humidity. If you're not aware, flying on today's aircraft yields roughly 5-10% humidity. Imagine not being dry as a bone on a plane!] I'd expect Boeing to announce a similar project by years' end at the latest, completing their Yellowstone project with "Y1" - a 737 replacement.

- With regards to China, it seems like the right project at the right time. Air travel is growing by leaps and bounds in their country, and to me at least, there appears to be plenty of market share for a third major competitor to the 737 and A320. I think it'll also be important for this new aircraft to have a very similar design, especially flight deck and heavy maintenance, to either Boeing or Airbus. Fleet commonality is a big part of airlines cutting costs, and an aircraft which would allow a marginal increase in training and maintenance could allow it to compete with airlines looking for a full range of aircraft sizes, something they can't offer immediately.

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LONDON (Dow Jones)--European aircraft manufacturer Airbus Industries (ABI.YY) won't replace its A320 aircraft series until 2015 at the earliest, an Airbus spokeswoman said Thursday.

She said research and development is continuing and the company would like to create a new series that is similar to the best-selling Airbus A320 series, but reports that this might lead to new models soon were incorrect.

Noel Forgeard, former chief executive of Airbus and current CEO of Airbus parent company European Aeronautic Defence and Space Co. (5370.FR), said earlier this week that the company would be doing research on developing a composite makeup for a potential next generation of the single-aisle A320 aircraft. That research wouldn't be complete before 2009, Forgeard added.

AirGlasgow.com

A CHARTERED Airbus with a full load of 120 asylum-seekers and Australian officials had to abort its take-off from the Cocos Islands on Sunday night because its rear stairs were trailing along the tarmac.

Customs officials and customers at the nearby Cocos Island Club had to rush to the airfield apron, climb over the perimeter fence and run towards the plane waving their arms to alert the pilot to the problem.

When the plane stopped, an airfield manager used a radio to contact the pilot.

Australian electronics businessman Jack O'Donnell, who was at the Cocos Club, said people were shocked to see the plane trailing the rear stairs as it taxied on to the tarmac.

The trailing stairs caused a shower of sparks as the plane picked up speed.

Mr O'Donnell told The Australian last night that the "trailing stairs caused a hell of a racket and were sending out sparks".

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"There were some Customs officers nearby and they pelted towards the fence as we all started to run towards the airfield," he said. "One of the Customs blokes got over the fence first and ran up waving his arms to stop the plane.

"It was clear the pilot and others at different parts of the airfield couldn't see the stairs at the rear."

When the pilot was informed, the rear door was opened and the stairs withdrawn into their separate hatch.

The pilot then recommenced the take-off.

A spokesman for the Air Transport Safety Bureau said last night there had been no report received of the incident but it did expect one within the 72-hour reporting period.

A Department of Immigration spokesman said the federal government was concerned at the incident and had called for a full report.

India's largest low-cost carrier, IndiGo has signed a Memorandum of Understanding for 180 eco-efficient Airbus A320 aircraft of which 150 will be A320neo’s and 30 will be A320s. It is the largest single firm order number for large jets in commercial aviation history, and also makes IndiGo a launch customer for the A320neo. Engine selection will be announced by the airline at a later date.

The A320neo, available from 2016, incorporates new more efficient engines and large wing tip devices called Sharklets delivering significant fuel savings of up to 15 percent, which represents up to 3,600 tonnes of CO2 annually per aircraft. In addition, the A320neo provides a double-digit reduction in NOx emissions and reduced engine noise.

“This order for industry leading fuel efficient aircraft will allow IndiGo to continue to offer low fares,” said Rakesh Gangwal and Rahul Bhatia, co-founders of IndiGo. “Ordering more A320s was the natural choice to meet India’s growing flying needs. The opportunity to reduce costs and to further improve our environmental performance through the A320neo were key to our decision.”

“The A320 Family is the recognised market leader. The A320neo, offering maximum benefit for minimum change, will ensure that this continues to be the case for many years to come,” said John Leahy, Chief Operating Officer Customers. “This order positions IndiGo to take full advantage of the predicted growth in Indian air travel and we are delighted that they continue to build their future with Airbus.”

The A320 Family (A318, A319, A320 and A321) is recognised as the benchmark single-aisle aircraft family. Some 6,800 Airbus A320 Family aircraft have been ordered and some 4,500 delivered to more than 310 customers and operators worldwide, making it the world’s best-selling single-aisle aircraft family. With 99.7% reliability and extended servicing periods, the A320 Family has the lowest operating costs of any single aisle aircraft. The A320neo will have over 95% airframe commonality with the A320 Family whilst offering up to 500nm (950 km) more range or two tonnes more payload.

Moderator

IndiGo commits to 180 A320s, largest jet order in aviation history
Press Release
11 January 2011

India's largest low-cost carrier, IndiGo has signed a Memorandum of Understanding for 180 eco-efficient Airbus A320 aircraft of which 150 will be A320neo’s and 30 will be A320s. It is the largest single firm order number for large jets in commercial aviation history, and also makes IndiGo a launch customer for the A320neo. Engine selection will be announced by the airline at a later date.

The A320neo, available from 2016, incorporates new more efficient engines and large wing tip devices called Sharklets delivering significant fuel savings of up to 15 percent, which represents up to 3,600 tonnes of CO2 annually per aircraft. In addition, the A320neo provides a double-digit reduction in NOx emissions and reduced engine noise.

“This order for industry leading fuel efficient aircraft will allow IndiGo to continue to offer low fares,” said Rakesh Gangwal and Rahul Bhatia, co-founders of IndiGo. “Ordering more A320s was the natural choice to meet India’s growing flying needs. The opportunity to reduce costs and to further improve our environmental performance through the A320neo were key to our decision.”

“The A320 Family is the recognised market leader. The A320neo, offering maximum benefit for minimum change, will ensure that this continues to be the case for many years to come,” said John Leahy, Chief Operating Officer Customers. “This order positions IndiGo to take full advantage of the predicted growth in Indian air travel and we are delighted that they continue to build their future with Airbus.”

The A320 Family (A318, A319, A320 and A321) is recognised as the benchmark single-aisle aircraft family. Some 6,800 Airbus A320 Family aircraft have been ordered and some 4,500 delivered to more than 310 customers and operators worldwide, making it the world’s best-selling single-aisle aircraft family. With 99.7% reliability and extended servicing periods, the A320 Family has the lowest operating costs of any single aisle aircraft. The A320neo will have over 95% airframe commonality with the A320 Family whilst offering up to 500nm (950 km) more range or two tonnes more payload.

Moderator

Air India To Refinance Loans Worth INR55B, Lease More Planes
20 January 2011

MUMBAI (Dow Jones)--India's national carrier Air India Ltd.'s board has asked ICICI Bank Ltd. (532174.BY) to refinance loans worth INR55 billion that the airline took out to buy 21 Airbus A320 planes, the company's board said after meeting late Wednesday.

The state-run airline also approved delivery financing of three Boeing 777-300 ER aircraft and one General Electric GE-90 engine worth $475 million. It has mandated Citigroup Inc. (C) to finance 85% of the loan while the remaining 15% will be arranged from Standard Chartered Bank, it said.

The loan refinancing is part of a financial and operational overhaul designed to return the carrier to profit. The global economic downturn, high jet fuel prices and a failure to achieve profitable synergies from a merger with Indian Airlines has pushed the carrier into losses since 2007.

Unprofitable routes and the burden of a $15 billion order for 111 new aircraft, as well as intensifying competition from local and overseas carriers have only added to its woes.

The airline narrowed its net loss for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2010 to INR55.51 billion from INR71.89 billion a year earlier, it also cut spending by 8% to INR190.35 billion.

Air India has a total debt of INR400 billion, including INR220 billion of long-term loans taken primarily to finance aircraft purchases.

The carrier's board also agreed to phase out four Airbus A310 aircraft and approved leasing agreements for 10 A320 and two A330 planes. It said the 10 A320s will replace old planes in its fleet.

The board further gave a nod to acquire 30 acres of land near Nagpur in the western state of Maharashtra to set up a maintenance, repair and overhaul facility.

Airbus and American Airlines, a wholly-owned subsidiary of AMR Corporation, have signed a firm contract for American to acquire 260 modern, fuel-efficient Airbus A320 Family aircraft. The contract calls for flexibility for the airline to take delivery of A319s, A320s and A321s, with 130 featuring Airbus’ New Engine Option (neo). All 260 aircraft will feature large, fuel-saving wingtip devices known as Sharklets.

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Airbus A30X is expected to replace the A320. Announced at first for 2017, it was now expected to be available by 2024/2025. Several concepts are considered but the rear mounted engines seem to be a permanent feature. According to the french newspaper La Tribune, both single-aisle and twin-aisle...

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Post here news and info about the 747-adv.

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